On Thursday evening in London, there will be a premiere of what is thought by some to be a long-lost orchestration of “Song of the Volga Boatmen” by Igor Stravinsky. Joseph Landers, a music professor at the the University of Montevallo in Alabama, discovered a set of parts of the Stravinsky manuscript “in a pile of music destined for the rubbish heap.’ From Alabama.com:
A note attached to the parts, which he found while cleaning house at a New York library, read, “Parts orchestrated by Stravinsky especially for Mr. (Feodor) Chaliapin,” the famous bass singer. The complete score for the arrangement of the Russian folk song, “Song of the Volga Boatmen,” has never been found, so Landers assembled one for performance by the Orion Symphony in Cadogan Hall, in London’s Chelsea area.
Though doubt remains among some scholars concerning its authenticity, Orion conductor Toby Purser is convinced it is the real thing. He programmed the work as a result.
“There are moments of genius and originality in the orchestration which make its authenticity absolutely convincing to me,” he said in a written statement.
Landers was encouraged when he presented his findings last year to discerning scholars at Cambridge University, garnering support from musicologist Nicholas Cook and composer Robin Holloway. He hopes the London performance will help prove that the work is genuine, and perhaps yield the original score from a library, archive or attic.
“Stravinsky holographs show up every couple of years,” he told the Birmingham News last year. “I think it will be a point of debate in academic scholarship. I think it will get some legs as a controversy, probably after the premiere.”
Orion conductor Toby Purser is so sure the orchestration is Stravinsky’s that the audience will be asked to vote on its authenticity after the performance. Tickets can be purchased here.
“Song of the Volga Boatman, a traditional Russian folk song that dates back hundreds of years, was a #1 hit for the Glenn Miller Orchestra and is often heard in Bugs Bunny cartoons. Rocker Billy Squier inserted a bit of it into his biggest hit, “The Stroke.”
Below, Igor Stravinsky conducts “The Firebird” in Japan: